Upside Down
by acedanzer14
Summary: Summer owns a successful matchmaking buisness, but what happens when she starts to fall in love with one of her clients, Seth Cohen? SS, AU. CHAPTER 11 IS NOW UP!
1. Stolen

"Summer, are you listening to me?" a tall blonde sitting across from Summer' desk asked.

"What? Yeah, I was listening, you were talking about you boyfriend or something, right?" Summer asked as she was coming out of her daydream.

"Actually I was talking about how we need to get some new clients; we can't keep setting women up with the same men. I mean Molly called and said that if we didn't get any more guys she's dropping us. She's been on a date with Greg—three times."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to get on it," Summer rubbed her temples ", I'm sorry, Marissa, but can we talk about this tomorrow? I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Oh, did you and Peter…"

"No, we didn't. Actually we haven't in a long time. We're both busy people, we don't have time to have time to have sex every night."

"When was the last time you two did the deed?"

"Um, three months ago, I think."

"Three months!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but can we please talk tomorrow?"

"Fine. But remember this is my business too, so if we don't get new clients soon we're going down."

Summer sighed as she watched Marissa leave the room. She spun her chair around to look at the Pacific Ocean that was just a few feet from her office window. She couldn't believe that in just a few years Marissa and her had built up a successful business. When they started their match-making company, Attractions, they figured it would fail in the first month. But what they got was a lot of Newpsies looking for men to sink there perfectly manicured nails into.

She spun her chair back around to survey the contents of her office. Her eyes landed on a picture of Peter and her from her companies launch party. She met Peter in her freshman year at college at a sorority party. After the party he invited her back to his dorm, where they sat and talked until dawn. They had been together ever since.

The truth was that things had been better with her and Peter. Both of them had been very busy because of their growing careers. Peter was a surgical intern at a nearby hospital in Newport, and Summer was the co-CEO of Attractions. They only saw each other for a couple of hours, and some nights she didn't even see Peter come home. She knew she had to be supportive of him, many nights he would come home angry and tired after a long shift. She couldn't even call him at work, many times he would be in the operating room saving someone's life, and here she was fixing up twice divorced Newpsies.

Just as Summer was reminiscing, she heard a knock on the door. She lifted her head up from her desk and told the person to come in. It was Heidi, her assistant, coming in with bagel in one hand and a can of Diet Coke in the other. She sat down across from Summer and handed the contents to her.

"I saw that you didn't eat any lunch today," she said smiling at Summer.

Summer smiled at Heidi and took the food. Apart from Marissa, Heidi was her best friend. She had met her in college in one of her classes, Heidi was studying to become an interior designer, but after college she couldn't find any jobs. So once Summer started her business, she offered Heidi a job as her assistant.

"Thanks Heidi, I'm sorry I didn't meet you and Marissa at lunch today. I've had a lot of things on my mind lately," she said in a whispered tone.

"No problem, but you did miss some good sushi. So what's on your mind, hun?" she asked with a sympathetic look on her face.

"It's just things aren't going very well with Peter and I. I keep asking myself if he's the one, I just don't think he is though," Summer said while biting her lip.

"Hunny if you don't think he's the one, than he's probably not. If you marry him and he's not the one you wanted, then you're just going to have a miserable marriage."

"I guess, anyway I should get going. I have to grab the Chinese take-out I ordered. Can you lock up?"

"Of course, see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, later."

Summer walked out of her office and past Marissa's. She looked in Marissa's office to see if she was still there, but it looked as if Marissa had already left. She shut the door and made her way out of the office.

Once she walked out of the office Summer immediately took off her Manolo's and began walking down the beach. She walked over to the abandoned lifeguard house were she spent all her teenage years thinking. The truth was she was afraid to break her relationship with Peter off. She had only had two relationships in her life. One was with Zach in high school, and the other was the one with Peter. She decided to call Peter to see if he would even answer his phone, but all she got was his voicemail.

"Hey babe, it's me, and by me I mean Summer. I was just calling to see if you would answer, but I figured you wouldn't. So I guess call me when your on your way home. Love you, bye."

Summer closed her phone slowly and stared at it for a few minutes to see if he would call back, but he never did. She figured he was probably in surgery, operating on a guy with a pole stuck in his heart, or something. She sat up and dusted the sand off her expensive pencil skirt. She looked at her phone to see that she had a missed call. _When did it even ring, _she thought. She looked at the phone to see that she had a missed call from Che, she was confused seeing as she hadn't talked to him since her college days. She thought about calling him back, but ultimately decided to go home and take a long, hot bath.

Once she entered her apartment she couldn't help but feel relieved. It had been a long day and all she wanted to do was drink a glass of champagne and take a bubble bath. Once Summer finished her bath, she tied a robe on and went into the kitchen to get some leftovers out of the refrigerator. She found a container of some Chinese and ate it on the couch while watching reruns of Jerry Springer.

"That's right Jerry, you show them who the boss is!" she yelled at the television as though Jerry Springer could actually hear her.

Summer jumped when she heard the door open. She turned around and saw Peter come in the door wearing his medical scrubs. _God, those things turn me on. Every time I _see_ him in those I want to say doctor please, I need some mouth-to-mouth. _ Summer jumped off the couch and immediately went to go kiss Peter.

"You're home early today!" she sang happily.

"Yeah, well it's been a long day and all I want to do is take a shower and get some sleep," he muttered softly.

Summer bite her lip and traced her finger down his chest. "Are you sure that's all you want to do," she asked seductively.

"Ah, Summer not tonight; it's not a good night," he said while taking his backpack off and placing the mail on the counter.

"Not a good night? It hasn't been a good night for the past three months!" she yelled.

"Summer, tonight is seriously not a good night, ok? What do you want me to do; I can't have sex with you every night!"

"Well, you can have sex with me sometime this year, you ass!" she yelled, growing increasingly frustrated. "You know what, go take a shower, and then you can sleep on the couch, that way you definitely get any ass."

She stood in the kitchen and watched Peter storm away. It seemed like for the past few months all they have been doing is fighting. Summer turned around into the kitchen to look at the mail that he placed on the counter. She looked it, most of it being for Peter, but something caught her eye. It was an issue of Forbes with a picture of a guy she swore she had seen before.

Summer opened the book up to the article about the man. Once she landed on the page she looked down at the man's name to see that it was Seth Cohen. She was puzzled, she swore she had heard that name before, but she just couldn't place it. She shrugged it off and then threw the magazine on the counter.

Summer went off into her room just to see Peter come out the shower. She walked right by him without saying a word. She marched to the dresser, got a blanket out, and threw it at him. After he left the room, Summer put on one of her negligees and slipped under the covers. She reached over to her nightstand and placed her eye mask on. She snuggled under the covers by herself, and fell asleep.

**A/N: tell me what you think about this one. If you like it I'll continue. Anyway read&review. **


	2. Nobody Needs To Know

There was no one on the couch when Summer woke up that morning. She walked over to the couch were Peter had slept that night and she found no one. Summer thought that he might have left early to do his rounds or some emergency surgery. She gathered his blanket off the couch and threw it into the washing machine. She reached for the laundry detergent only to find that there was none left. _Shit! I thought I just bought some! I guess I'll have to go get some before work. _

Summer took a quick shower and got ready for the long day she knew she would have ahead of her. She strolled into the kitchen to fix her morning pot of coffee and to read the business section of the newspaper. Ever since Peter introduced the newspaper to Summer in college she couldn't live without reading it everyday. Summer checked her watch to find that she needed to leave now to get to work on time, even if she was the boss. Summer folded the newspaper, clutched it under her arm, and made her way to her BMW.

The silver BMW pulled into the parking lot five minutes before work was supposed to begin. Just as her car pulled in, she remembered she needed to get laundry detergent. She shrugged and figured she would just stop by Wal-mart after work. Summer pushed open the doors to her business and strode to her office. Just as she sat down Marissa knocked on her door.

"Come in Marissa," yelled Summer as she dug through her purse trying to find her lip-gloss.

"Hey, we need to talk about the business," Marissa said sympathetically as she sat down.

"I thought we were going to talk about this tomorrow?"

"You said that yesterday, so technically today is tomorrow."

"Oh," Summer blushed ", I'm sorry I didn't listen yesterday, it's just things with Peter and I have been pretty rough lately."

"You told me you haven't had sex for three months. What else has he done?"

"Well, he won't answer my calls and he always comes home late from work. I understand he works long hours, but can't he just call to tell me he'll be late?"

"I'm sorry hunny, but things will work out, they always work out for you two."

"Thanks Coop, so what is this about the business we need to talk about?"

"We need to get a bigger client base; I think we need to advertise more. I'm talking billboards, commercials, the works. Just something so we can get more people through the doors. We especially need more in the men department; the women are getting a little fed up with their selections."

"I'll have graphics come up with a billboard, and I'll call the billboard company to see if we can rent one, ok?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. Maybe I'll work on a commercial?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," Summer half-smiled.

"Sum, don't worry, things will work out with you and Peter, if they don't, well, then there's someone else out there."

"Thanks, Coop. Can you stop by later?"

"Of course, but I got to get on this commercial."

Summer watched Marissa walk out the door swishing her hips. A part of Summer hated Marissa, she hated that Marissa had a perfect relationship with Ryan. Both of them had gone out since high school, and he still hadn't popped the question. She remembered all the times she'd double date with them. It would always be her, Marissa, Ryan, and Zach on Friday nights. Around school everyone called them the core four; they always had so much fun together going to the Bait Shop. She also remembered when she and Zach broke up because they were both going to different colleges, that was one of the most painful days of her life.

Summer began work on fixing some of the Newpsies up with men, who they would ultimately drag to bed by the end of the night. At times Summer hated her job, her she was trying to make perfect relationships, when she didn't even have one. Sometimes she wished she could leave the business to Marissa, and put her art history major to good use. Once Summer was finished setting all the Newpsies up on there rendezvous, she decided to take a long walk on the beach. Every time she needed to clear her head, she would take a walk, anywhere. She took her shoes off and headed outside.

-X-

"Seth, Seth? Are you listening to me?" a voice called from the phone.

"Yeah, Ryan," Seth answered.

"Then what did I just say?"

"Something about some girl," Seth laughed.

"I'll just call back later Seth. Bye, man."

Seth heard the dial tone on the phone. He slowly put the phone back on the receiver, and rolled across the office in his chair. Today was a good day for Seth Cohen; his first comic had just gotten movie rights, and he was on the cover of Forbes. In fact, ever since high school things had definitely improved. After high school he packed his bags and headed to the east coast. He was never supposed to return to California, but after his comic book business grew, he knew he had to move it to California.

Seth took a look at his office from his chair. He had done well for himself; he wondered what all his high school classmates would think of him now. They were probably still partying, still trying to live in the glory of their high school days. The only person he had ever kept in touch with since high school, other than his brother, was Anna. That was because both he and Anna had gone to college together, she even moved back out to California with him. They were supposed to be together forever, that was until he found her in bed with another guy. Ever since they ended things, Seth never moved on. He hadn't even dated for the past year.

Just as Seth was reminiscing, he heard a knock come from his door. The door opened and he saw his assistant, Karen, walk in. Seth had always had a small crush on Karen; she was tall, beautiful, and kind. She walked into his office and sat on Seth's desk. She always sat on his desk; Seth never saw her sit in the chair across from his desk.

"Congratulations Seth! I heard about the movie deal a few minutes ago," she said leaning in closer to him.

"I know, I still can't get over it. My comic book is going to be a movie! This is huge!" he said with a lopsided grin plastered on his face.

"I wonder what all your little 'friends' from Harbor would think now," she said laughing.

"They're probably thinking they should have talked to me more in chemistry," Seth smiled.

Seth looked at Karen, who was laughing. There were many times since he broke up with Anna he thought about asking her out. But he knew if they broke up, then their friendship would be ruined. Still, he had his moments when he would think that she would be the perfect girl for him.

"Probably, I would have talked to you in chemistry though."

Ever since he moved to Newport a year ago, all he could think about was high school. He hated that he always thought about it, he wanted to remember all the good times he had in college. But instead all he could think about were his years of hell at Harbor.

"Thanks. I wouldn't have talked to you though. You were probably a bigger loser in high school than me," he said laughing.

"I'll have you know Seth that I was on the cheerleading squad."

"Then I for sure wouldn't have talked to you."

"Thanks Seth, anyway I got to get back to work. Some of us don't have movie deals to celebrate."

Seth smiled as he watched her walk out the door. It was the first time he smiled in long time. Ever since Anna left him, he shut himself off emotionally. He didn't open up to anyone and he didn't share his feelings. He had become a workaholic, pouring all the emotion he held up inside him into his work. Even though it had been a year, he still thought of Anna everyday. Everyday he would wish he would open his apartment door and see her there, but she never was. It was then, he decided, that he needed to move on, and he needed a little help.

-X-

Summer was tumbling into her apartment with bags of groceries in her arms. She set them on the table and walked around to see if Peter had shown up. He still wasn't there. Summer then began to unpack the groceries when she saw the flashing red light of her answering machine. She rushed over to the machine hoping one was from Peter, she pressed play and started to listen to the messages.

"Hey Sum, it's Marissa, I was just calling to tell you that you have an appointment with a new client tomorrow at three, so see you tomorrow!"

Summer rolled her eyes at the message; _couldn't she tell me this tomorrow? _ Summer pressed the delete button and waited for the next message.

"Hey Summer, its Peter, just wanted to say that I won't be home for dinner tonight, even though I promised you last week. I have a lot of surgeries on the board today, so don't expect me home until later, love you."

Summer quickly pressed the delete. He promised to make it to this dinner no matter what, even if he had to give up one of his surgeries. Summer made her way over to the kitchen counter and began to cry. She wondered if Peter and she were really right for each other. Maybe they weren't supposed to be together forever. Maybe she was supposed to be with someone else, someone who wasn't always too busy for her. Summer poured herself a glass of wine, and thought about what life without Peter would be like.


	3. Harder to Breathe

There was silence in Summer's apartment. She tore off her sleep mask and rolled over to put her arms around Peter, but he wasn't there. Summer began to worry since she didn't hear him come in that night. She threw the covers off the bed to see if he was anywhere in the apartment, but he wasn't. Summer was afraid he was lying in a hospital somewhere, but she kept reassuring herself that he had gone to work.

Summer ran into her closet and threw on some clothes. She knew if she wanted to know if he was alright she would have to visit the hospital. Even if she called she knew Peter wouldn't pick up. Sometimes she wondered if he saw she was calling but just chose to ignore the call. Summer hopped in her car, with a bagel in her mouth, and made her way to the hospital.

Once she arrived she started to feel sick. She hated hospitals, it was the whole thing with sick people, she was never good around sick people. Every time she came in contact with one she would immediately get sick. Summer held her nose and made her way over to the nurse's station.

"Hi, I'm looking for Dr. Kelley. Do you happen to know if he came in today?" Summer asked still holding her nose. She didn't want to take any risks of becoming sick, the company needed her now, and she couldn't let them down.

"Actually he never left last night; he had a lot of surgeries. Are you his wife?" the perky blonde nurse asked.

"No, I'm just his girlfriend."

Ever since Summer had known Peter, she would always put their names together. She knew if she married him she would be either Summer Kelley or Summer Roberts-Kelley. She always preferred the latter, but Peter said she should take just his name, and not keep hers. For Summer, though, she never liked Summer Kelley, something about it didn't fit according to her.

"Do you happen to know if he'll be free at anytime today?" Summer asked. She wanted to see if she could talk to her boyfriend for at least five minutes; it felt like she hadn't talked to him in forever.

"I don't think so today, our boards pretty full; there was a huge car accident today, so lucky for us there will be a lot of surgeries!" the nurse said extremely happily.

"Right, well have fun with operating, and things," Summer nodded. She was a little scared of how excited the blonde was about operating.

Summer walked out the hospital and into her car. She didn't want to go to work today, but she knew today was important; she had a new client.

The automatic double doors opened to Attractions and Summer walked passed everyone without even her usual 'Hey guys.'

"Guess someone had an argument with their boyfriend," two girls behind Summer gossiped. She wanted to go back and yell at them, but she wasn't even in the mood for that. She walked into her office and threw her coat at Heidi.

"Do you think you're in The Devil Wears Prada or something?" Heidi yelled from her desk.

"Sorry, I've had a bad morning," Summer quietly responded.

Then Summer got up from her desk and shut the door to her office. As she was closing the door she saw the sympathetic look on Heidi's face. She knew Heidi wanted to talk to her, but right now Summer didn't feel like talking to anyone. She closed the blinds to her office and sat in her desk chair.

Summer usually didn't have many days when she felt depressed, but today was one of them. She sat in her chair for what seemed like hours just staring at the wall. _What the hell is wrong with me? I'm acting like one of those depressed people that are forced to work for Fox News. Ew, I would so hate that job. _

Before she could even realize what she was doing, Summer pulled her phone out and dialed Peter's number. She knew he wouldn't answer, but she figured she would try. But, for the first time in days, Peter answered the phone.

"Hey baby!" he said cheerfully.

"Hi," Summer said to him coldly.

"Look, I'm sorry I couldn't come to dinner last night, I was booked solid on the boards until four. I just figured I would sleep here so I wouldn't wake you."

"Uh-huh."

"Look, I think that when I get home we need to talk about our relationship," he said quietly so that the other employees of the hospital could not hear.

"Why do we need to talk our relationship? I'm pretty sure our relationship is just fine Peter!" she yelled.

"Honey, we both know our relationship hasn't been fine for the past couple of years. I think we were supposed to be a college couple, we weren't supposed to go further than that."

"Wait, are you breaking up with me? You are, and you're doing it over the phone!"

"Well I was going to do it at home…"

"You are breaking up with me! You asshole!" she yelled so loud she was sure everyone in the office heard.

"It's for the best honey, I think that we both can grow from th—"

But before he could finish his sentence Summer hung up the phone. She couldn't believe the man she loved had just broken up with her via phone. Summer pushed her bangs back and placed her head on her desk. It was over, all the years they spent together, were nothing but a memory now. She sat there for a moment, a then the tears started to pour.

-X-

"How long has she been in there?" Marissa asked Heidi.

"Since around nine. Marissa she wouldn't even come out when I promised her a Valley marathon, and she knows I hate the Valley."

"I mean I just feel so sorry for her, she's just sitting there with her head on her desk crying," Marissa said somberly.

"She better get cleaned up soon, its two-thirty and she's got an appointment at three."

"I'll go in there."

Marissa unlocked Summer's office and walked in. All over the floor were tissues and pieces of notebook paper that said Mrs. Kelley. It looked like a tornado had entered the room and blown everything away. Marissa walked over to Summer's desk and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Marissa I was so stupid. He doesn't love me; he's probably in love with that hoe of a nurse. I was just his stupid old girlfriend."

"Summer that's not true. He loved you, a lot. You two just weren't right for each other, that's all."

"But yesterday you said that we would work it out, and now we're broken up Coop. I'm not going to marry him. I haven't even dated anyone since Zach, how can I move one Coop?"

"Last time I checked you did own a dating service. You can move on from this Summer. I know you can, and if he is dating that hoe, then they'll both have ugly babies together."

"Yeah, thanks Coop. I have to get ready for the appointment at three, I think I should probably clean the office up a little."

"Good idea," Marissa said as she hugged Summer. Summer was her best friend and she didn't like it when people hurt her. She then jumped up, walked out the door, and mouthed an "I love you" to Summer.

-X-

Seth Cohen couldn't believe he was using a dating service to meet a woman, a woman in Newport no less. He knew all the women he would be set up with would be at least twice his age, but he tried to look past that. It was only a number, right?

He walked through the doors into the office. He could hear chattering all about him, mostly from girls talking about his appearance on the cover of Forbes. He walked up to the desk at the front of the office, as he did he noticed an attractive brunette sitting behind the counter.

"Hi, Welcome to Attractions! Do you have an appointment with us today?"

Seth looked her over, she was very attractive. For a moment he thought about asking her out on a date and blowing this. But he remembered he already paid the money in advance so he might as well go to the meeting.

"Uh, I do. It's at three."

"And your name is…"

"Oh, sorry, it's Seth Cohen."

As the brunette was looking through the list her head immediately shot up. He eyes seemed to be getting bigger and a smile crept on her face.

"Seth Cohen from Harbor?"

"Uh, yeah, I went there."

"Oh my God, Seth! It's me Taylor!" she smiled at him and then gave him a hug. Seth remembered Taylor from high school. He remembered she was one of the few people who talked to him. Even if at times she could be a tad annoying, he knew she was always there for him. After high school, Seth went to college on the east coast and Taylor went off to Paris, and the two lost touch.

"Wow, Taylor, you look great."

"I know, the French will do that to you. Anyway, your appointment is down the hall and then you will take a right. Her office is all the way at the end."

"It was good to see you Taylor, we'll catch up soon?"

"Yeah, definitely."

Seth waved goodbye to Taylor and made his way down the hall. Pictures of married couples dotted the hallway, and underneath the pictures was a plaque stating when they were married. Seth looked at those pictures and felt a little saddened. He wasn't supposed to be here, he was supposed to be in one of those pictures with Anna by his side.

He hung a right and then walked down the end of the hallway until he saw a blonde sitting behind a desk. She smiled at him and opened the door to the office. Seth walked into the office to find a girl with her head down on her desk. She didn't move for a moment, which started to worry Seth.

"Um, Hello?"

The noise of Seth's call scared Summer. She frantically arose from the desk and Seth finally got a good look at her face. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd seen that girl before. She got up from her chair and walked over to Seth. Then she stuck her hand out for him to shake.

"Hi, I'm Summer Roberts."

And then it hit him. This was the same Summer that he had had a crush on for years. The girl that, before Anna came, was the one girl he cared about. He suddenly wanted to get out the office, but then he remembered the money in advance and sat down. _Besides what could one meeting hurt? _


	4. Publish My Love

Seth stared at Summer for a few moments. She still looked the same as she did in high school, except older. She still had long dark hair and her petit features. Seth felt as he did back in high school, his palms started to get sweaty and his throat became sore.

"Excuse me, sir, could you have a seat?" Summer asked. She was confused as to why this man who she had never seen before was staring at her. "Sir?" she called out again until he came out of his trance.

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking I needed to get something on my way home," he responded nervously.

"Ok, well could you please have a seat?"

Seth made his way over to the seat across from Summer. She sat down and smiled with him and then whipped out a binder. She then reached into her desk and pulled out a sharpie.

"Sir, I need your name so I can write it on this binder," she said as she took the cap off the sharpie.

"It's Seth Cohen."

He was a little disappointed when he didn't see her head shoot up like Taylor's did. _Just play it cool, Seth, you're older now. And what were you thinking, thinking she would remember you, _Seth thought to himself.

"Hi, Mr. Cohen. I'm Summer Roberts."

"I know," he spat out. He didn't mean to, it was just as if he became the same nervous teenager around her. "The lady at the desk told me, if you were wondering." _Seth, that was a close one. Now remember just be cool. You were on the cover of Forbes for Christ's sake. Stop acting fifteen and try to act twenty-six. _

"It's ok Seth. I figured Taylor would have told you, she just can't keep her mouth shut. You can't tell her anything without it being all over the office in a matter of minutes," Summer said giggling.

"Yeah, she looks like she could be a handful," Seth said in his play-it-cool voice.

"She is, but she's a great girl. And speaking of girls let's try to find you one, so Seth what kind of woman are you looking for?"

"Well age isn't really a factor, but I don't want someone too old. And she would have to be kind, smart, and artistic. I can't help it I like artistic women; I do draw a comic book after all," he said laughing.

"No problem, I'm sure there's a woman in here that fits your criteria," she laughed nervously. Summer never laughed nervously. Usually with guys she was confident and sexy, but this guy was a different story. Every time she laid her eyes on him she would get a weird feeling in her stomach, but she just brushed it off.

"Well, that's good right?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course it is, you'll probably have a girlfriend in no time," she laughed so nervously she snorted. Her cheeks then flushed a bright red and she covered her nose with her hands. 

Seth laughed. She was still the same, cute girl after all these years. "If that's the only kind of snorting you do, then I'm ok with it."

"So, Seth where are you from?"

"Well, I was born and raised in Newport. But then I went to college—"

Summer cut him off. "You grew up in Newport. You must have gone to Newport Union, I guess."

Seth couldn't believe that she didn't remember him in the slightest. After all these years he still remembered her, but she didn't remember him. She didn't even remember that he was the geeky brother of her best friend's boyfriend.

"Actually, no, I went to Harbor. I graduated in 2006."

Summer's mouth dropped open. Now she remembered where she had seen him before. She knew when she looked at the cover of Forbes she remembered that name. She was surprised that Marissa didn't say anything about Ryan's brother being on the cover of a magazine.

"You're Ryan's Brother, Seth, right? Your dad was head of the Newport Group after Caleb died, right," Summer started to get excited. Ever since she moved back to Newport after college, she never saw any of her old friends anymore. The only people she knew who went to Harbor where Taylor and Marissa.

"The one and only," he said acting like the fact that she remembered him wasn't exciting.

Summer laughed again. She had never really talked to Seth, but she remembered sometimes when she and Marissa would come over he would be sitting by himself playing video games. Sometimes she wanted to invite him out, she always felt bad that he didn't have any friends.

"Well, Seth, I'll review your file and then I'll call immediately as soon as I have a match," she said anxiously.

"Yeah, thanks. Will I need to come back to the office?"

Summer thought about it for a second. She knew she would usually just tell the people when and where to meet the person and they wouldn't have to come in unless they were looking for a new match.

"Yes, you do," she knew he wasn't supposed to come, but she wanted him to.

"Bye Summer," he said as he walked out the door.

Summer smiled for a second. She couldn't believe she'd acted like that with a guy. She had acted like she was back in middle school, giggling because a guy said that she was cute. Summer picked the picture of Peter and her off the desk and threw it into the trash can.

-X-

"Marissa are you sure this is the right one to wear?" Summer asked her best friend while staring at herself in her mirror. After work Marissa said that she, Heidi, and Taylor were taking Summer out for drinks to get her mind off of Peter.

"Summer, I'm sure. You have to look as hot as possible. You just came out of a major breakup, you need to look awesome," Marissa said smiling at her friend.

"I know, but shouldn't I have a few days to grieve?"

"No, just get drunk and forget about him. That's what I used to do in high school."

"Hmm, key words Marissa: in high school," Summer laughed while tugging the neckline of her dress lower.

"I'll be in the car. Come out when you're done," Marissa said while she walked out the door.

Summer ran from her mirror into her home office. She went to the giant bookcase that she had standing on the wall and picked up her yearbook. She flipped through the pages until she landed on Seth's picture. Now she remembered why she didn't recognize him. His curly hair was completely gone, and his wasn't as skinny as he used to be. Summer heard Marissa honk the horn to her car, and she quickly threw the yearbook down.

Summer hopped into the passenger seat of Marissa's Range Rover. As she climbed in Marissa noticed that there was something different about her. It was almost as if she was happy, and Marissa hadn't seen Summer actually happy in months.

"Sum, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Coop, I wasn't doing anything in my apartment if that's what you're thinking," she laughed guiltily.

"Ok, I guess you weren't doing anything then," Marissa laughed. Something was up with Summer, there always was when she would do her guilty laugh.

Marissa pulled in front of the club and handed her keys to the vale. She grabbed Summer's arm and led her into the club. Marissa rolled her eyes at Summer's ongoing rambling. She always rambled when something was up.

Once they were inside the club, Summer immediately walked up to the bar and ordered a shot of tequila. She never liked that drink, but now she needed something strong to keep her mind of off Peter.

"Hey, Sum, maybe you should start with something lighter. Tequila isn't so good for breakups."

Summer rolled her eyes at Marissa, but she agreed when Marissa offered to buy her a beer. Summer grabbed the beer from Marissa's hands and walked over to where everyone was dancing. She began to dance and let go everything that Peter had said. She was enjoying herself; she was dancing with Marissa, Heidi, and Taylor and she was actually having a good time. She was smiling and laughing, until she saw something she definitely didn't need to see.

Over in the corner of the floor she saw Peter and another girl. She moved closer to see who he was with, once she moved closer she still couldn't see who it was. She inched so close she was sure Peter would see her. Finally she was able to get a glimpse of the girl, only to find out it was that same nurse from the morning.

"What the hell are you doing Peter?!" Summer yelled at him.

"Summer, we broke up, I can hang with any girl I want to," he slurred. Summer could clearly tell he was drunk.

"Why the hell are you here with that skank?" she yelled as she pointed to the nurse.

"Summer, I've been with her for awhile now," he slurred. Summer could tell her wasn't supposed to say anything because the nurse's eyes started to get wide.

"What the freaking hell Peter! No wonder you wouldn't sleep with me, you were too busy getting sloppy seconds from this slut."

"I am not a slut," the girl interrupted. She, like Peter, was also clearly drunk.

Summer called for Marissa to come over. As Marissa was walking she saw that she was carrying a martini. Once Marissa stood next to Summer, she grabbed the drink from Marissa's hands and threw it on Peter.

"You ass!" she yelled as she ran out.

Once she was outside the club, she sat on the curb and began to cry. She didn't know why she was crying over Peter, he had cheated on her with that hoe of a nurse. There probably wasn't even a car crash; she probably wanted to pull him into a supply closet and make him drop his pants.

From behind her, Summer could hear footsteps. She knew it was probably Marissa, but she did hear the clacking of her heels.

"Summer, are you okay?" the voice called to her.

She turned around the figure and gave them a smile, she knew now that the person was definitely not Marissa.


	5. Tiny Vessels

Summer turned around to look at the figure standing behind her. She knew who it already was judging by the voice, but she didn't want to turn around and face the person.

"Can you please just go away?" She asked politely while she was sobbing.

"Summer, I think you really need to talk to someone, and I know what you're going through."

"Like hell you do," she said still sobbing.

The figure sat down beside her on the curb, and she looked at him. Seth put his hand on her leg and gave her a small smile. He then turned towards her.

"It gets better, I promise," he smiled at her.

"How does it Seth, I mean I've been with the same guy for, like, eight years. I thought we were going to get married, and little did I know he's been screwing the horny nurse," she said hardly being able to get the words out.

"Well, I dated a girl for eight years too. We met in high school and we knew we would probably get married, but we wanted to wait until we were older. So she goes to college with me, moves back to Newport with me, and then I find out at our apartment here, she's been screwing the landlord!"

"That's terrible," she whispered as she began to calm down.

"The point is, is that everyday you start to forget the person more and more. You'll probably never get over what they did, but things will get easier."

Summer smiled at Seth. She couldn't believe how mature he was acting. In high school, she never heard him talk, ever. She had hears rumors that he liked her, and she believed that's why he never said a word to her.

"Well," he said as he started to stand ", I should probably get going." He started to walk away and Summer watched him.

"Wait!" she yelled after him. Seth heard her voice and turned around. "Do you mind staying? I kind of don't want to be alone tonight, and I don't want to ruin everyone else's fun. Unless your having fun, then you can go back in there or whatever."

"No, it's fine. I understand why you wouldn't want to be alone." He began to walk towards her, and Summer began to tense up.

"You know what. Actually you can go, I'm going to go back in there. I'll see you at our appointment tomorrow."

Summer stood up from the curb and dusted the debris off her dress. She faced Seth and gave him a small smile. She spun on her heels, and walked back into the club. As she was walking back, she turned around to see Seth walking down the streets with his hands in his pockets.

Once Summer was back in the club, she saw Marissa coming towards her. Marissa hugged her and whispered "I'm so sorry" in her ear. Summer shrugged when Marissa pulled away and she wiped a tear from her eye.

She walked over to the table where Heidi and Taylor were sitting. She sat in one of the chairs and noticed that they were all staring at her. Summer sighed and picked up one of Marissa's beers.

"Guy's, it's no big deal. I'll be fine," Summer said as she started to cry again.

Marissa, Heidi, and Taylor all pulled Summer into a big hug. Once they pulled away Summer smiled at them.

"Maybe we should get you home. And maybe you shouldn't have another beer," Marissa said.

Summer agreed and put the beer down. She stood up and grabbed Marissa's hand, as she was walking out the club, she waved goodbye to Heidi and Taylor. They waited for the vale, and once the car came they both climbed in.

The ride to Summer's apartment was quiet. All that could be heard in the car was the faint music that was playing on Marissa's radio. The bright lights of L.A. blinded Summer as she was trying to close her eyes. All she wanted to do was sleep and forget that this ever happened.

Once they reached her apartment Summer immediately collapsed on the couch and fell asleep. Marissa looked around the apartment and found a blanket in one of the dressers. She walked back into the living room and placed the blanket on Summer. She then pulled a note pad out of her purse and scribbled something on it. She placed it on the coffee table were she knew that she would see it. Marissa placed the pad back in her purse and walked out the apartment.

-X-

The next morning Summer woke up with a sickening feeling. She felt her forehead and found that it wasn't warm. She then remembered all that had happened the previous night, the breakup, the nurse, the cheating, everything. She looked around the room and saw the note lying on her coffee table.

_Hey Sum, _

_I know you'll probably feel like crap today, so I'm gonna make you take the day off. I'll reschedule all of your appointments for later. See you tomorrow and feel better! _

_Love, _

_Marissa. _

Summer looked at the note and smiled. She didn't even remember coming back to her apartment; she figured Marissa must have taken her home. Just as she was getting up to throw the note away she heard a knock on the door.

Summer walked by the mirror to see if she was presentable in case it was a mailman or something. Even if she was signing for a package, she wanted to look good. She took her hair out her ponytail and flipped it to give it some volume. She then shook it and answered the door.

Once she realized who was on the other side, she immediately shut it. She didn't want to answer it again but she knew she had to. She then turned around and angrily threw open the door.

"What do you want?!" she yelled.

"I need to get my things, I'm moving out," Peter answered coldly.

Summer opened the door a little more and let Peter in. She watched him come into the apartment. She couldn't believe that he was moving out, this was the home that they shared for four years, and he was just leaving it. She watched him as he went into the closet and got out storage boxes. She also watched as he packed away all of his clothes and pictures.

The entire time she was watching him, she couldn't help but start to softly cry. Once he left the apartment, he would be out of her life forever. She saw him get out the packing tape and tape all the boxes closed.

"Well, that's the last of them," he said softly.

Before she could even think, she opened her mouth.

"Why did you do it?" she asked.

"Summer, we both know we weren't the same as we were in college. We both changed and we wanted different things. I don't know one day, she was just there. We didn't mean for it to happen but it did, and then before I knew it I was in love with her."

"Thanks, Peter, that makes me feel so much better," she said sarcastically.

"I don't know how else to tell you, but that's what happened," he walked over to Summer and kissed her forehead ", I'm gonna miss you Summer."

As he said that, he gathered his boxes, placed his key on the table, and walked out. Then it was over, he was out of her life.

Summer slumped into her room and sat on her bed. She couldn't believe that from now on no one was going to sleep next to her. She walked into the bathroom to find all his things gone. The apartment seemed so empty without his usual clutter. Summer laughed at how she always fussed at his clutter, and now she was missing it. She climbed into the shower and began to get ready for the day. She put on one of her sweat suits and grabbed the keys to her car.

-X-

She couldn't remember the last time she had gone to the diner. She remembered she used to go all the time in high school, and then she suddenly stopped coming. She walked in and sat in one of the booths that had a window that overlooked the ocean. The waitress walked up to her and handed her a menu.

Summer flipped through the menu hoping to figure out what she used to order. Just as she thought she found out what it was, she thought she heard someone call her name. She turned around to see who it was, only to see that it was Seth. She looked at him puzzled, trying to see why she had seen him in the same place two times in a row. He walked up to the booth and sat across from her.

"Um, I didn't say you could sit here," she said coldly.

"Ah, bitterness looks good on you," he laughed.

"Fine, you can sit there, but I'll have you know that I'm not in the best mood right now."

"Good, neither am I"

"He packed all of his things this morning," she said quietly.

"I had to do that, it's not fun."

"It wasn't fun watching."

"Anna didn't watch, I guess she didn't care," he half-smiled.

"So, on a lighter note, what have you been up to since high school?"

"Well, I…"

-X-

Once the two parted ways, Summer couldn't remember the last time she laughed so hard. Also, during the entire three hours that they sat there, she didn't think about Peter once. She smiled; she was starting to think this break-up wouldn't be as hard as she thought it would be.


	6. Let Go

It had been a few weeks since the break-up with Peter, and Summer Roberts was feeling fine, at least that's what she told everyone. She had cleared her apartment of all things that were attached to him. Her trash can was filled to the brim with pictures, c.d.'s, and other reminders of her love for Peter. She had spent her nights after work watching re-runs of Dr.Phil that she tivoed while she was at work. Ever since the altercation she had with Peter at the club, she hadn't gone out for drinks since. Marissa had called her repeatedly trying to coax Summer out of her apartment, but her attempts failed. Summer spent the nights in her apartment with a bowl of ice cream and Dr. Phil. She learned that she didn't need a man in her life, she could spend the rest of her life doing this.

On a Wednesday evening, Summer was gathering her belongings and walking out her office door. As she was locking her door, out the corner of her eye she could see a figure walking towards her. She immediately recognized that the figure was Seth, and she quickly put her keys into her bag and began to walk away quickly.

"Summer, hey! Wait up," she could here him yelling to her. Summer didn't want to slow down though, ever since that day she had seen him at the diner, things had been awkward between them. She barley knew what to say to him anymore, and she couldn't talk to him without her throat becoming dry.

"Seth, I was just on my way out, you can talk to Marissa though, she's staying late tonight," she said as her throat was tightening.

"Oh, well I was just going to tell you that I need another date, things aren't working out with Kayla," he said as he was rocking back and forth on his feet.

"But I thought you too would be such a good match," she said with a smile on her face.

She knew Seth wouldn't be a good match for Kayla; she was a Newpsie-in-training. She also knew that the more women Seth didn't get along with, the longer he would stay at Attractions. The only thing that came to her mind when she questioned herself about why she wanted him to stay was that she was beginning to develop feelings for him. She wanted to deny it, but she knew her feelings were true. She couldn't escape them, and the only way she knew to escape them was if she lay on her couch with a carton of ice cream and re-runs of Dr.Phil.

"Yeah, well it's just not working with us. She's actually the total opposite of me. She told me that comic books were only for people who were lonely and geeky, which was me in high school. So I guess I'm guilty of that stereotype, "he smirked.

"We can get to it in the morning Seth, it can wait." She fidgeted with the buttons on her Armani trench coat. She couldn't look at him; it just made her more nervous. The funny thing was, Summer had never been nervous around a guy. But Seth Cohen was another story; he had a way of turning her legs into jelly.

"Yeah, I know, I was actually going to come earlier, but things got tied up at the office. I was kind of hoping I could get a date tonight."

"Well, I think that you're a little late in trying to find a date tonight," she said with a faint smile across her face. When he smiled at her with those dimples, her heart would instantly melt.

"Unless, you want to be my date for this evening, I have reservations already at the Yacht Club, and I would hate to see them go to waste," he said to her in a charming voice.

"I don't know Seth, you're my client, isn't that a little odd?" She wanted to go, but she knew if she went with him, she would only fall for him harder.

"Then don't think of it as a date, think of it as a business dinner."

"A business dinner? Fine, I'll meet you there at eight, I have to go back to my apartment and change first."

"Eight it is then."

Summer walked away from her office with a smile plastered on her face. She knew this "business dinner" would only make her fall harder for Seth, but it was a risk she was willing to take.

-X-

Summer entered the restaurant and scanned the crowd for Seth. She walked past a girl that she was sure she recognized. Once she walked past her, she realized the girl was Holly. She hadn't talked to Holly since high school; just before Summer left for college they got into a really big fight and hadn't talked since then. Summer was devastated, Holly and Marissa had always been her two best friends, and now they were missing a third of the group. She heard that Holly had gotten married, and she couldn't help but feel jealous of her ex-best friend.

Summer craned her neck to try to see over the heads of the crowd, trying to see if she could see Seth anywhere. Her eyes finally landed on his face, and he gave her a little smile. She waved and made her way to the back of the restaurant where he was sitting.

His eyes scanned over her and he couldn't feel but a little nervous inside. He felt like he did back in high school whenever he saw her. She always had a way of making his heart melt a little.

"Hi, Seth!" she said in an excited voice. She was truly excited to be there, she wanted something to finally wake her up from her Dr. Phil spell.

"Hey Sum," he said trying to sound cool, but no matter how hard he tried he would always have a nervous sound in his voice.

She sat down across from him and flashed him a smile. She took a deep breath and then reached for the menu. She kept looking up from the menu to see Seth nervously talking to himself. On other men she would have found it creepy, but on Seth it was cute, it just made her love him more.

"So, what do you think Summer? Should I get the chicken or the fish? It's a question as old as time."

"Not my decision, it's your mouth," she said giggling.

"Since when did you pick up sarcasm Summer Roberts?"

"Since I grew up and decided to not go to college in Newport," she sighed," and I also think it was because of Peter."

"I'm still sorry about that; break-ups are hard. But obviously you're supposed to meet someone else, and I'm sure he'll be better than Peter. You deserve it."

"Thanks Seth, that means a lot," she smiled and took a sip of her wine. She had missed wine; she hadn't had a sip since the run-in at the club.

"Anytime, Summer," he smiled.

"You deserve someone too, someone better than Anna, someone who's not stupid enough to let you go. It was a mistake on her part."

"Thanks Summer," he raised his wine glass ," I think the both of us deserve a toast. A toast to being single and deserving other people."

"Cheers to that!" She raised her glass up and clicked it with Seth's. She took a sip of her wine and raised an eyebrow at him. Then a slight smile appeared on Seth's face.

"So what's this comic book of yours that I hear is going to be made into a movie?" she asked.

"Well," he blushed,"it's called Atomic County. It's basically me and Ryan battling demon water polo players. Anna used to be in our superhero gang, but she left to fulfill some other duties."

"It sounds like it will be a hit," she smiled.

"I hope it will, this is a huge career move. I'm nervous about it all the time."

"It will do fine, Seth. I'm sure it will be a box office hit."

"I hope so," he said as he took a giant sip of his wine. "If it doesn't then I'm royally screwed."

"Well, if I don't get more clients soon, then I'm royally screwed," she said rolling her eyes. "So cheers to that," she raised her glass once more.

"Cheer to being royally screwed!" they both smiled at each other and clanked their glasses.

-X-

"So this is the living room, sorry for the lack of personal touches, they are all in garbage can," Summer said as she pointed out things in her living room.

"I'm guessing all the personal touches had to do with Peter?" Seth asked as he turned to face the living room.

After dinner, Summer had asked Seth to come back to her apartment. She jokingly promised that nothing would happen, and she wanted to continue the conversation. She also said that they both deserved some much needed coffee after all the wine.

"They did, I'm going to go make some coffee, and you just make yourself at home."

Seth sat on the couch and looked around him. He looked at all the empty picture frames and the bare walls. He guessed that after Peter left, she went through a rampage and cleaned everything that had to do with him out. He did that when Anna left, he had been so angry he just wanted to get rid of everything that had to do with her. So he took the day off and threw everything that reminded him of her away. He looked on the coffee table and saw his high school yearbook. He opened it and began to look through the pages.

Summer came back in carrying two cups of coffee. She saw Seth reading something and she sat next to him on the couch. She smiled as he began to look through the pages of the high school memories. She had loved high school; most of it had been the best years of her life.

"Aw, it's you! You look so cute," she giggled.

"Ah, the awkward teenage years, you got to love them."

"You don't look that awkward," she said laughing.

"Oh well now your just lying!" he picked a pillow off the couch and threw it at her.

"Cohen! You throw like a girl!" she laughed.

"Well look here, Summer Roberts," he said pointing to her picture.

"Don't look at that!" she yelled as she stole the book from his hands.

"Looks like the awkward teenage years decided to skip you," he smiled.

"You think so?" she blushed," and I'm sorry in high school if I ever said anything mean to you."

"You never said anything mean to me," he whispered.

"That's good," she said quietly.

"You couldn't say anything mean to me, because you never talked to me," he quietly said.

"I'm sorry Seth, I was a bitch in high school, I really was. If I could take it back, I would in a heartbeat."

"Well, it's my turn to not say anything to you," he smiled.

"And how to you propose to do th—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Seth kissed her. Summer could feel a tingling in her spine. Seth's kiss was different than any kiss Peter had ever given her. He ran his hands through her hair and Summer found herself inching closer towards him. He picked her up off the sofa and she wrapped he legs around his torso. He carried her into the hallway and he pushed her against the wall. He began to kiss her more passionately and he spun around and made his way into the bedroom. He shut the door and placed Summer gently on the bed.

That night Summer figured he probably wasn't going to be talking to her very much.


	7. Soul Meets Body

Summer awoke the next morning feeling blissful…and a little hung-over. She tossed her hair and squinted to see the neon red numbers on her clock. In the back of her head she felt like she was forgetting something, but she just pushed it out of the way. She once again looked at the clock to see that it was seven in the morning. Usually she would wake up at eight to get to work by ten. She turned over to the side to fall back to sleep but something else caught her attention.

"Oh my God!" she yelled as she sprung out her bed. She flown out her bed so hard that she crashed to the floor, she then picked up a blanket and rapped it around herself. She couldn't believe that last night she had had sex with Seth Cohen. All the sudden Summer was finding it hard to breathe, she didn't remember a thing about their encounter that night. All she remembered was the dinner, the coffee, and then the….

Then it came to her. The kiss. The kiss that started out innocently enough and then turned the corner to passionate. She couldn't believe that she let herself have a one night stand with Seth, she liked him, and she had a feeling that she had just thrown her chances with him away.

Summer wrapped the blanket around her tighter. She opened the door to the bathroom and shut it quietly behind her. She climbed into the tub and repeatedly hit her head on her palm. _Summer why do you have to be so stupid? He probably won't remember anything about this! You had to go with five glasses of wine didn't you; couldn't you stick to one or two? _ She climbed out of the tub and reached into her medicine cabinet. She reached for the Advil and popped a couple of them into her mouth.

She quietly opened the door and walked back into her bedroom. She stared at Seth for a moment wandering if she should wake him. She decided that after coffee she would wake him and then tell him of the night's happenings. She stumbled into the kitchen, reached for the coffee pot, and boiled a pot of coffee. She poured two cups and then made her way back into the dreaded bedroom.

She stared at him once more and sighed. A part of her wanted to just leave and head to work or at least go jogging. She wanted to be anywhere but there. She closed her eyes and tapped him gently; she didn't get an answer or a stir. She tapped him again, this time with a little more pressure, and she got a reaction. She saw him breathe deeply and stir in his position. She then saw him roll over to where she was standing; he blinked his eyes and reached for the coffee.

"Morning," he said coolly.

"Yeah, morning," Summer said not looking in his eyes. She was too nervous to look at him at the moment. Her head was racing with thoughts of whether he remembered what had happened that night.

"Something wrong?" he asked as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Seth we need to talk," she said as she traced the top of her coffee mug with her fingers. She dared not to look at him in the eye.

"About what?"

"Last night."

"What about last night?" he asked as he sat up more with a puzzled look on his face.

"About the, well you know. The 'connection' we had last night," she said as she used finger quotes.

Seth stared at her puzzled for a moment. Then she could see his face light up more. "Oh, you mean the sex we had last night."

"You remember? I thought you were drunk like me," she said quite astonished at his response.

"I had one glass of wine, and you had, was it five?" he jokingly replied.

Summer stared at him in utter amazement. She thought what she had had with Seth was drunken sex, but he meant for it to happen.

"Did you mean for us to have sex Seth?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on it. But, it happened. And I meant it, the kiss, everything," he said staring at his coffee mug, not looking at Summer.

"Wow, I thought that you were drunk when it happened. What do we do now?"

"Well after a date and sex, one would think that we would date each other at least," he laughed. He then hopped out the bed and began to put on his clothes. She was unsure of how to answer him; she didn't know what to say to that.

"Seth I can't date you," she replied blankly.

He stopped buttoning his shirt and he stared at her transfixed. "Why not?" he asked her.

"It's too soon after Peter. I mean, I know it's been a few weeks, but I still don't think I'm completely over him. And then there's that whole thing that you're my client, I can't date my client. I mean I run a matchmaking business, I'm supposed to find you a woman."

She watched as Seth began to button his shirt once more. He wasn't looking at her, he was staring into space. Once he finished dressing he walked over to Summer and stopped in front of her.

"I like you Summer, a lot. You're going to make a guy really happy one day, you're going to find that one guy and you are going to get married to him. I am not that guy though; I'll just always be that guy that you slept with. I'm just another notch on your belt, and that sucks because I like you Summer. I don't want to be that guy that you had the one night stand with, but unfortunately I am. Anyway, you're a good catch Summer, and whoever catches you is going to be the luckiest man in the world," he said looking straight into her eyes. He then kissed her forehead and walked out the bedroom door.

"Seth, wait," she called after him with tears in her eyes. She waited for him to return to her bedroom, but he never did. She wanted to date Seth, but she was scared. She was scared that he would cheat on her like Peter did. She was scared that he would leave her the way Zach left her.

-X-

When Summer entered her office, she had a frown planted on her face. She hadn't been that upset since the day that she found out that Peter was cheating on her. She walked past Taylor, and didn't say anything to her. She then saw Marissa running towards her, but she didn't stop to say anything to her. Marissa trailed after her; she knew when something was wrong with Summer. She followed Summer all the way to her office and entered before Summer could slam the door at her. Summer just sat in her chair and began to bang her head on her desk. Marissa immediately ran to her side and tried to stop Summer from injuring herself.

"Summer, honey, you need to stop!" she yelled at her friend.

Summer finally picked her head up from her desk and looked at Marissa. Marissa could see that Summer had been crying from the mascara stains on her cheeks. Summer was a mess between the stains and her unbrushed hair.

Marissa sat on Summer's desk and looked at her. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"I'm so screwed up when it comes to relationships. You can't even call them that; you can actually call then relationshits, because that's what they are," she sobbed.

"What happened? Was it something with Peter?" Marissa asked. She was becoming worried about her best friend.

"No, I just had the best night of my life, now that I can remember it. Seth took me to dinner, and then we went back to my house and we slept together. Then this morning he asks me if I wanted to date him, and I told him no. God, I am so freaking stupid!" she began to hit her head on the desk again.

"Summer, you need to stop doing that," Marissa told Summer. Summer then lifted her head up once more and looked at Marissa. "Now why would you tell Seth no? I thought you liked him or something."

"I'm scared Marissa. I'm scared he'll cheat on me like Peter did."

Marissa leaned over and hugged Summer. "Peter was an ass for what he did to you, but not every guy is going to be like him. Seth's different he wouldn't do anything like that to you, especially since Anna did it to him."

"Yeah," she sighed," I guess you're right."

"Call him or something. He'll understand."

Marissa left the office and Summer picked up the phone. She stared at the numbers for a second, almost as if she was afraid to actually dial them. Before she could think about it she dialed the number and his phone started to ring.

"Seth Cohen's office," his voice rang through the phone.

"Hi, it's me, Summer," she whispered.

"Oh, hi," he said, his voice dropping.

"I just wanted to talk to you about this morning."

"What about it?" he asked her coldly.

"I didn't mean it when I said that I didn't want to date you. I do. It's just I'm scared because of what happened when Patrick, I don't want to go through that again."

"Summer, you know I would never do that to you."

"I know, I guess I was just being careful or something. Would you still like to go on a date with me?"

"Summer I would like to, but you're too late."

"How am I too late?" Her eyes were beginning to tear up again.

"One of the girls from your service called. We had gone on a date a couple weeks ago and we really hit it off, but we wanted to explore other options. So she called back and now we're going on another date."

"Oh, well that's great." She tried to sound excited for him, but she couldn't.

"I have to go; I have a lot of work to do."

Before she could even respond he had hung up the phone. She gently put the phone back into the cradle. She spun her chair around and looked at the window that faced the ocean. She sighed and then spun her chair back around to her computer. She opened Microsoft Word and began to type.

_Why Summer Roberts always has to screw a good thing up. By Summer Roberts. _

**A/N: Ah, not the best chapter, but it was hard to write. I didn't want them to get together so soon, but don't fear. This is a Seth & Summer story so they will wind up eventually. **


	8. Just For Now

Summer was beginning to feel doubtful that a relationship with her and Seth would ever work. Sure, she wanted one, but they were two completely different people. Plus, there was that fact that she had been too late. If she could take it back, she would in a heartbeat. The moment that he asked to date her she would have jumped at the opportunity. But she didn't, and if there was one thing she knew it was that you can't change the past.

There were many things that Summer wished she could change. The first was that she wished she never opened this damn business. Attractions at first was the hot spot to go for women who wanted a date. And for a while business was booming, then most of their clients got married, and their client base didn't increase. The problem was that they were losing money in the deal, new clients didn't come and they were left with paying the bills with not a lot of money coming in. The bottom line was the business was failing, although Summer didn't want to admit it, it was the truth.

The second thing she wished she could change was her relationship with Peter. Ever since their breakup she'd cursed herself every day, she would wish that that one night she never followed him back to his dorm. She wished that they realized that they had nothing in common, and that they had left that night as strangers. It would have been easier; she wouldn't have to deal with the pain she still went through till this day.

A few months had passed since the ordeal with Seth. Most of her time was occupied by work and Marissa dragging her out of her apartment. She would always show up on the doorstep of Summer's apartment and she would demand that she wasn't leaving until Summer came outside and got into the car with her. Summer would always go, she knew that Marissa would actually stand outside her home until she came out.

-X-

Summer was busy typing away at her computer. She was sorting through the client list that she had stored in the database. She looked down the list and counted twenty, twenty clients was not good for their business. As she went down to the bottom she stopped on a name: Seth Cohen. He had been the last person she entered into the database. Her heart skipped a beat a little, she would think about him all the time. How in those few weeks she became infatuated with him, she would never know. All she knew was that she blew her chance with Seth, and Summer never got second chances.

Just as a tear was about to fall from Summer's eyes, she heard a knocking at the door. Marissa peeked her head through the door and asked if she could come in, Summer nodded and Marissa stepped into her office. She walked up and sat on the same spot that she sat on every day.

"So, I have a surprise for you," Marissa said with a smile drawing it's way across her face.

"Marissa you know I don't like surprises," Summer said while still typing away at her computer.

"Anyway, I got two tickets to see the Dodger's. Do you want to join?" Marissa asked, waiting for Summer's response.

"Join? Do you mean Ryan's coming and I'm going to be the third wheel? If that's the case, then no I do not want to join," she stated still not lifting her head from the computer.

"No, Ryan's not coming. He's going with…friends."

"In that case, I'll go," she said as she pressed enter and smiled at Marissa.

-X-

Summer was never really a fan of baseball, the only thing she liked about it was the food. When her dad would drag her to a baseball game, the one thing she looked forward to was eating hamburgers, hotdogs, and funnel cakes.

She walked into the entrance and gave her ticket a man, he resembled someone she thought she once knew, but she couldn't place who he looked like. Marissa called after her and the two of them walked to their seats. The entire time they were walking Summer couldn't help but think of Seth. It was like everywhere she went, he followed. It was like he was a ghost, a ghost of a good thing.

She continued to walk with her hands in her pockets and her face facing the ground. Sometimes she felt like leaving California, so she could move somewhere and get a fresh start. She wanted to move far away, far away from all the drama and bad relationships that Newport held.

She walked past all the vendors until she heard a voice from the hotdog stand that sounded a lot like Seth. She brushed it off at first, but then a voice inside her head kept telling her to turn around. She tried to fight the voice, but it was as if it kept getting louder and louder. She finally turned around only to see Seth standing at the stand. He was with Ryan and a pretty blonde girl. The blonde girl had her hand interlocked with his, and she knew that that was the girl that got Seth before she could.

She couldn't help but feel jealous of that girl. There she was with her perfect long blonde hair and her perfect body. And the worst thing she had was the perfect boyfriend. She immediately hated the girl. She had the one thing Summer wanted, the one thing she would give everything up for, the one thing she would trade anything for to have a second chance. She had Seth.

She watched as she saw the girl turn around and smile at Seth. Summer saw them walking her way, and she immediately tried to hide behind Marissa. She then saw that Ryan and Marissa had made eye contact, and she immediately knew that the group would be headed her way. She had to think fast, she didn't want Seth to see her alone. Summer scanned the crowd and found a cute guy, and then she grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her.

"Hey lady what the hell are you doing?!" the man yelled at her, trying to free himself from her tight gripe.

"If you do me a favor I will give you a hundred bucks, deal?" she said looking him strait in the eye.

"What is the favor, lady?"

"I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend. You don't need to say anything to me, just stand there and look pretty, ok? My ex-crush is coming over here and I can't afford to be seen alone when he's with his girlfriend. And by the way the name's Summer," she whispered at him as she saw Seth's group walking closer towards them.

"Fine, Summer, I'll do it. By the way, I'm Ethan."

Summer grabbed his had and intertwined it in hers. If they were going to look like a real couple, they had to act like one. She walked over to where Marissa and Ryan had finally met. She saw Seth stare at her, and she saw Marissa give her a funny look.

"Hi Seth," she said quietly, not taking her eyes off of Ethan.

"Hey Sum, this is my girlfriend Casey," he said not removing his eyes from the Summer and Ethan spectacle.

"And this is my boyfriend, Ethan," she said smiling at Seth. She was trying her best to make him jealous, and so far it didn't look like it was working.

"So how did you meet?" Seth asked with a smile forming across his face. He knew something was up with Summer and her "boyfriend."

"Um, it was at a…" Summer started to panic. She didn't think that Seth would ask such hard questions.

"It was at a diner, we met at a diner one day. I thought she was pretty so I went and sat right next to her, and the rest is history," Ethan chimed in. Summer looked over and him and discretely mouthed a thank you.

"Well that's great. Summer was the one who actually set me and Casey up," Seth added. Casey turned to him and hugged him, but the entire time his gaze was fixed on Summer. He still liked Summer, but she had been too late, he had moved on.

"Hey, Seth can I talk to you in private for just a moment?" Summer asked.

"Um, sure. Will you excuse me for a second babe?" he asked Casey. She nodded and then planted a kiss on his cheek.

The both of them walked away, not saying anything to one another. They would occasionally look at the other person, but only when the other wasn't looking. They finally reached a place where they knew none of the group could see them talking.

"Seth we need to talk," Summer spat out.

"About…" he asked, not looking at her.

"Look, I know the whole sex thing was tragic for the both of us. And I'm still sorry about how I acted in the morning. But, it's been a few months Seth, and we've both moved on. So, anyway, I was just wondering if you would maybe want to be friends or something. I know it probably seems weird, but if you're willing to give it a chance…"

"Summer, I don't know…"

"I know it's weird. And it's not like we have to hang out or anything, but if we see each other again, it would be good if it wasn't awkward. We could talk or something and you could call me if you ever have problems with Casey," Summer pleaded. She needed Seth in her life, it was like ever since he came into it, she never wanted him to leave.

"Fine. We'll be friends. But, just friends, got it?"

"Just friends," she smiled.

The two of them walked back to the group and stood with their partners. All of them stood there for a moment with just the sound of silence. Seth and Summer smiled at each other, the both of them were glad that they finally had reached an understanding.

"Um, Casey, Ryan we should probably go to our seats," Seth finally said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I'll call you, okay?" Ryan asked to Marissa. She nodded and he planted a kiss on her forehead.

The three walked away leaving Summer, Marissa, and Ethan. Marissa looked at Ethan and started to laugh.

"Summer I can't believe you paid a guy to pretend to be your boyfriend," Marissa continued to laugh.

"Actually it's on the house; you don't have to pay me. But here, this is my number if you and that guy don't work out. You're definitely a catch Summer," Ethan said.

"So I've been told," she said as she watched Ethan walk away.

It didn't matter how she had to get Seth to be her friend. The most important part was that he was back in her life. And that made Summer the happiest girl in the world.


	9. Your Heart is an Empty Room

Fall was Summer's favorite time of year, ironically enough. Even if Newport didn't exactly have fall, she still loved it. She loved walking into stores and admiring all the sweaters that she couldn't wear, even if it was October it was still seventy degrees. But this fall in Newport was different. It was actually a little cold, even if it was sixty degrees, which was cold to everyone who lived in Newport.

Summer loved it though. She finally had an excuse to go to the mall and buy all the sweaters she wanted. Except there was one problem—she was broke. Business was declining faster than ever, and the money wasn't coming in like it used to. Summer basically had to live every month paycheck to paycheck. She could barley afford her apartment, and the only things she could spend money on were necessities.

Summer looked up from her computer to see Marissa staring at her with a sullen look on her face. Summer knew what was wrong; it had to be something with the business. Even if the business had failed, Marissa would never admit it. She would simply say that their efforts weren't good enough, and that they would maybe try again someday.

"Hey Sum, we really need to talk, it's important," Marissa said with tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I know what it's about Coop, we failed didn't we?" Summer replied, with tears starting to form in her eyes also.

Marissa didn't say anything, she just nodded. Summer quickly got up from her desk and hugged Marissa. The two didn't say anything for a few moments; they stood in her office hugging each other. They had really failed. Their business that was once successful was now over. The two broke away from each other and began to cry, the effort that went into the business was gone.

"Should we tell everyone?" Summer finally asked, breaking the quiet that had formed between the two.

"I guess," Marissa replied, tears still streaming down her cheek.

The two walked into the large room that housed the cubicles and happy workers. They were happily typing away on their computer; they didn't know that in a matter of minutes they would be out of a job. The interns were smiling and laughing, the accountants were typing away freely, Taylor was sitting behind the front desk speaking with a client, and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. This business that they had built from the ground up was now going to be demolished. Marissa looked at Summer, and Summer looked at Marissa, they couldn't bear to share the news but they knew they'd have to.

"Everyone, can we please have your attention?" Summer yelled. She watched as everyone turned around to face her. Summer knew she would have to deliver the news, she knew Marissa couldn't do it.

"Um, I don't really know how to say this, it's not something I do everyday. The last few years with all of you have been amazing, I've learned so much in these years. When Marissa and I first started Attractions, we never though we would as get as far as we did. We thought that it would be closed in a matter of months or weeks, but here we are five years later. Unfortunately, the time has finally come for the doors to be closed. We've had a great run, and this business is something Marissa and I have dreamed of, but we just can't keep it. It's been wonderful to know everyone here, and to have met all of your family and friends. I wish everyone that worked here the best of luck, and that even if we didn't make it in the long run, we still made it," Summer finished her speech with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Taylor ran up to Summer and gave each of them a hug. It was hard to imagine that in a few days, they would be out of the building, and everyone would be going in different directions. Summer hadn't had any experience other that Attractions, and she hoped that she could find a job somewhere. Summer excused herself to her office and picked up the phone to call someone who she knew would understand her, Seth.

Ever since the run-in at the baseball game a few months ago, things had been smooth sailing for the two. They would often call each other and discuss their problems when they knew they couldn't talk to anyone else about them. They would also run in to each other at Newport events, and they would act as if they were best friends. That's how they agreed to picture themselves, best friends who accidentally slept together.

The phone rang a few times before Seth actually answered. She waited on the other end of the line twisting the cord around her fingers. She grabbed a Kleenex and started to wipe her eyes.

"Hey, Sum," Seth's voice rang from the phone.

"Hey Seth," Summer's voice was beginning to break. She didn't want Seth to hear her cry on the phone, but she couldn't help it.

"Summer, what's wrong?" He asked with a frantic tone in his voice.

"Um, well, we're closing the business. I guess it didn't work out. At least we could say we tried, right?" Summer replied to Seth, every once in a while she hiccupped from all the crying she'd been doing.

"I'm sorry Summer. If it wasn't for you I would have never met Casey, so I think you did pretty well for yourself, even if it didn't work out."

"Thanks Seth. How's it going with Casey anyway?"

"Well to be honest, things have been better. At first she was amazing, and then she got kind of neurotic. Enough about me, what are you going to do after you sell?"

"I have to find another job somewhere. I guess I'll now have to use my college degree after all," she laughed a little.

"Maybe this is an excuse for you to finally do it," he laughed a little too. There was something about Summer's laugh that made it a little contagious.

"I hope I'll be able to get a job, I haven't used my degree in years."

"Summer, believe me, you'll be able to get a job! Anyplace would be lucky enough to hire you," Seth smiled a little; he still had a soft place in his heart for Summer.

"Thanks, I better get going. We have to call a lot of clients and tell them the news."

"Bye Sum, and don't worry! You'll get a job!" Seth said, still grinning from hearing her voice.

Summer hung up the phone and looked out the window; this would be one of the last days that she would look out the window and see that view. Whenever things were going bad at the office, all she had to do was drop what she was doing and look out at the ocean. She would miss it; it was one of the few things she would miss about the business. She wouldn't miss the late nights, the stress it gave her, or the fact that she had fallen in love with one of her clients. Summer had faced that problem a long time ago, that no matter how good of friends they were, she would always be in love with Seth Cohen.

Marissa walked into the office a few moments later, still looking defeated. While Marissa would never admit that she failed, it would always read on her face that she did. She would always have the same sullen face, the same droopy eyes, and the same mascara stains on her cheeks.

"Hey Coop, how are you feeling?" Summer asked the sullen Marissa.

"I've been better, but I'm doing ok," she responded to Summer's question.

"What did you come in here for Coop; I know you never come in unless you want to tell me something," Summer asked, eyeing Marissa.

"I got a job…"

"Coop, that's great! Where is it?"

"It's…It's in Seattle…" she trailed off.

"What's Ryan going to do about that, is he going with you?"

"Yeah, he actually was able to get a job up there, but what about you Sum. Have you even started to look for a job?"

"Not yet, but I guess I should get on that. I won't have any income soon," she said as she laughed, she even saw Marissa crack a little smile too.

"Here, Taylor got this number from one of her friends in Paris. I think you could use it," Marissa said as she handed Summer the note.

"It's a job at Vogue. Marissa there's no way they'll hire me, I haven't done any writing since my last year of college. Besides you're supposed to work your way up to these kinds of things. They'll never…"

Marissa cut her off, "Taylor pulled a few strings and was able to get you an interview for the Vogue in New York. Plus I sent some or your work from college and they said that they were impressed."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously, Summer you need to give them a call. It might be good for you to get out of Newport anyway," Marissa then turned on her heels and exited through Summer's door.

Summer got up from her chair and stood at the window that overlooked the ocean. The one time she left Newport was when she went to college, and it had been one of the best experiences of her life. She loved that not everyone at UCLA was obsessed with fashion, gossip, and hooking up. She felt normal there, like she didn't have to be anyone she didn't have to.

Summer had never really thought about leaving California. She figured if she would move anywhere other than Newport, it would be to Northern California. New York seemed a million miles away, she would be far away from everyone she cared about. But then she remembered that Marissa would be moving to Seattle and there was no telling where Heidi and Taylor would go. She would also be leaving Seth. She loved Seth, but she knew that they would probably never be together. New York seemed like the perfect place to go to get away from everything, and to movie on from Seth.

Summer stared at the piece of paper in here hand. She looked at the numbers and memorized them. She then picked the phone up and began to dial the number. She heard it ring, and then she heard a girl pick up the phone and answer it.

"Hi, I need to speak with Anne Sullivan about an interview."

**A/N: so there are only about three chapters left and the next two will have some drama in them! I already know how this is going to end and I'm so excited about it! I promise I will update Read My Mind as soon as I can!**


	10. You Are the Best Thing About This Place

There it was, the apartment that she had lived in for the past couple of years, empty. She only expected to leave it when she would get married and buy a house. But now she was leaving her apartment for New York. She was going to leave everything and everyone behind so she could start a new life. It was scary to Summer, leaving everything, but she knew if she wanted to move on, then she would have to leave.

She stood in the middle of her apartment looking at the bare walls. She never imagined that she would ever just pick up and leave, especially to a place like New York. It was scary to go somewhere where she didn't know anyone, but it would also be a good experience for her. She would move to a city where no one knew her, and where someone named Seth Cohen wouldn't be. A smile formed onto her face, she was free from Seth. She was finally free from him always entering her mind, free from wishing they could be more than friends.

She walked into her closet where one lone dress was hanging. It was the dress she was going to wear to Marissa's engagement party. Ryan had finally proposed to her a couple of days ago and Marissa was throwing a party for all of her family and friends. After the party that night, Summer was going to leave Newport—for good. She didn't even have to worry about returning for their wedding, they were getting married in Seattle. She was officially leaving Newport, and she had no intentions of coming back.

She walked into the bedroom, thankful she was leaving that. The memories that she had in the bedroom were not ones that she would miss. That bedroom was something that she was glad she was closing off, forever.

She still couldn't believe she was leaving to start a new life. New York hadn't even been registered in her brain as a place to move to. She heard her cell phone ring and she quickly opened it seeing as it was Marissa.

"Hey Marissa!" she happily answered the phone.

"Hey Sum, you all packed?" she could tell Marissa was upset, judging by the way she kept sniffing every few seconds.

"Yep, all my stuff is making its way to Fifth Avenue as we speak."

"I can't believe you're leaving after the party," Marissa said while hugging her side.

"Me either. But about the party, I'm going to be a little late, so don't start without me!"

"Alright, I'll see you there Sum," she said as she hung up the phone.

Summer put the phone back into her bag and took one final look around her apartment. She took a deep breath and looked at all the empty walls. She put the keys to her apartment in her bag; she knew she would return to do one final thing.

-x-

Summer loved to drive down the highway at night. Sometimes she would leave her apartment in the middle of the night just to do that. The waves crashed against the shore, and she felt at peace driving down the deserted stretch of the road. There were barley any lights to highlight were she was going, but she knew this road by heart. They were the same twists and turns that she had taken for the past few years.

She pulled into the empty parking lot and she took a look around. It would probably be the final look of this building she would have. When she and Marissa were first picking the building out, they knew when they pulled into the parking lot that this was the one. It wasn't tall or gray. Instead it resembled a beach house; it was large but cozy at the same time. They knew that this was where they wanted their business to be.

The once red sign that hung from the roof was now gone. When she turned the key to open the door, she noticed the building was empty. It had never really hit her that the place where she spent all the years to her life was gone. It seemed like it had been a dream, and now it was definitely a reality. All the cubicles that were in the main room were gone, and the hallway to her office was boarded up. She didn't know what they were going to do with this building, but she did know the investor that bought the business was moving it to a bigger city.

When she was working at Attractions there were times that she wanted to sell it, but in her heart she knew that she never could. It was too much apart of her to do that. She'd always wanted to keep it and then maybe pass it down to her kids someday. Now she knew that dream would never come true. Although there were times that she dreamed that she would move when she had kids so that they didn't have to go to school with the superficial teens like she had to.

She took one final look around the dark, deserted building. All the dreams that she had for the business were now out the window. She would have to start all over with a new town, a new job, and new friends. She felt like she was going to college all over again, except when she went to college she at least had Marissa. She smiled as she scanned over the building once more, then she closed the door.

-x-

Marissa was starting to get impatient that her best friend had still not shown. She knew she was going to be late, but not this late. She tapped her foot repeatedly, until Ryan couldn't take it anymore.

"Marissa, she will be here any moment now. Stop freaking out!" he whispered softly to her.

"What if she took an earlier fright Ryan? What if she misses the engagement party?!" Marissa said, becoming more frantic by the second.

"I promise that she did not take an earlier flight!" Ryan was starting to get annoyed by his fiancés antics.

Just as Marissa was about to cry, Summer came walking in to the party. She couldn't believe that her friend had taken that long just to come to the party.

"Oh my God, Sum, where were you?" She asked mad at her.

"I wanted to stop by the business before I came. After this I'm going to my apartment and then I'm leaving," she said with a small tear cascading down her cheek.

"Sum, I don't know how I'm going to live without seeing you everyday," Marissa sniffled while giving Summer a big hug.

Summer wiped a tear away from her eye. "This is silly, this party is about you. Congrats, again!"

She turned to face Ryan. "Congrats to you too Atwood," she said while jokingly punching him on the arm.

"Thanks Roberts," he said while giving her a hug.

"I'm just going to go get a drink."

She shuffled off from Ryan and Marissa. All this engagement talk was making her sick. She was now completely jealous of Marissa. She officially had the perfect relationship. In a matter of years she knew that there would be a clan of Atwood's running around a house playing tag with one another while mom and dad sat on the porch of their picket-fenced house.

"Hi, can I get a shot of tequila? And please keep them coming," she called to the bartender.

"I see someone's looking to get drunk tonight. I don't think that that will go over well on a plane. They say one in the air is like two on the ground," a voice called from behind her.

"Why should you care Seth? No one here cares if I get drunk. Hell, I doubt anyone would even freaking notice!" She yelled as she turned around.

"I would notice," he said quietly.

"No you wouldn't. You'd be too busy doing body shots with that skanky girlfriend of yours!" She raised her voice some.

"What the hell is wrong with you Summer?"

"What the hell is wrong? What the hell is wrong? How about why can everyone on earth have amazing relationships and I get stuck with the relationshits? Why is that Seth? Why can't I have one freaking good relationship without someone cheating on me, or leaving me, or telling me it's too late?" She started to yell louder with tears staring to stream out her eyes.

"Hey can we talk privately?" he asked her quietly.

She signed and she nodded her head. She followed him into a gazebo that was in the garden that Ryan and Marissa were hosting their party at. She walked inside and didn't bother to sit down; she just stood up with her hands on her hips.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" she was becoming frustrated. She was ready to leave now.

"I want to know what's wrong with you. Why did you freak out at the bar?" he asked gently.

"Seth I have to tell you something. Just give me a second, okay?"

"Take as long as you need."

"You know I'm moving to New York right? So I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love you Seth. I've been in love with you. I completely understand if you never want to see me again since you're with Casey and everything. I just thought that I should let you know. In fact you probably won't see me again. But just so I know, Seth, do you love me?"

"Summer…I can't love you…I already told you that you were too late."

Tears started to pour once again from Summer's eyes. "Oh, that's…that's ok." She started to walk away ", but if you do change your mind Seth, I'm going back to my apartment. I'll only be there until ten, so if you change your mind I'll be there waiting for you."

She walked away with more tears streaming down her cheeks. Between this and the scene she cause earlier, she probably looked like a party crasher. She walked to Marissa to say goodbye to her, she knew that she could on her.

"Bye, Marissa," she said sniffling.

"Sum, why are you leaving so soon?" Marissa started to get teary-eyed as well.

"He doesn't love me Coop. There's no reason for me to stay, I have no one," she said as she hugged Marissa.

"That's not true Summer. You'll always have me, and it's his loss anyway. I know you loved him though," she replied as she pulled away.

"I love you Coop, I'll see you at your wedding! And remember you'll always be my best friend," she started to walk away.

"I love you too Sum, you'll always be my best friend too. No one is Seattle is going to change that. I'll tell Ryan you said bye."

"Bye Coop," she finally walked completely away.

Marissa started to cry. She scanned the crowd for any sight of Cohen. When she finally saw him standing by the bar with his head hung down, she immediately walked over to him.

"Hey Seth, can we talk?" she asked gently.

"If it's about Summer, I don't want to talk about it," he didn't look at her, he just kept looking at his drink.

"Did you tell her that you broke up with Casey?"

"No. I can't tell her that because then she'll want to stay to try to fight for me. I know that about her, she can't fight for me because I'm such a wreck at relationship. She deserves much better than me Marissa…"

She cut him off. "Do you know how much she loves you Seth? She doesn't have that kind of love that she'll get over it in a couple months. This love that she had for you, she'll never get over. And if she marries someone he's only going to come in second place. Do you love her Seth?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Then you have to stop her somehow. You can't let her leave for New York if you love her," Marissa said with a smile beaming across her face.

"She said she'd be at her apartment until ten," he glanced at his watch ", and it's nine-thirty. I better get going."

He bolted out of the party. Seth couldn't remember the last time he had run so fast. He quickly got into his car and began to speed down the highway. He knew he would have to speed in order to catch her in time. He glanced at his speedometer and saw he was going easily ninety miles an hour. He kept looking all around the interstate for cops, but he didn't see any. He kept pushing the pedal father down until he felt like he couldn't push it anymore.

Finally, after what seemed like one of the longest trips he had ever taken, he reached her apartment. He smiled when he saw that it was only nine fifty. He ran up the stairs to her apartment smiling the entire way up. He reached her door and knocked on it. He called her name, but he didn't get an answer. He knocked on it once more, and the door opened.

He walked inside. The entire apartment was empty, save for the empty curtains blowing in the wind. He looked all around the apartment.

"Summer!" he called, but there was no answer.

The woman he loved had left already.

**A/N: One more chapter left. What will happen? **


	11. Take It Like a Man

There was something about airports that Summer didn't like. Maybe it was the bustle of everyone trying to run to their flight, or maybe it was because she didn't like airplanes. When she used to fly home from college she would always dread those trips in the air. And as luck would have it, she would always get in the middle of the isle. Not to mention it would always be in between two loud old women who needed hearing aides, but the accidentally forgot it at home.

She took her suitcase to baggage to check it in. She kept turning around every few seconds to check if Seth would burst through the doors. She wanted him to stop her from getting on that plane. She wanted him to cause a big scene in the airport, for him to kiss her passionately, and then for random groups of people to stop and burst into applause.

"Miss, Gate 23 is to your left. Miss?" the lady yelled.

"Huh? Oh sorry, can you tell me when the plane is expected to leave?" Summer asked still half-way in her daydream.

"In about thirty minutes, so you better hurry miss."

"Do you think that that leaves enough time for someone to burst in through the doors to declare their love for someone?"

The woman gave her a strange look and then started to laugh, "If you're expecting someone, they better get here soon."

Summer received her tickets and then made her way towards the gate. She would take a step and then turn around. She figured it was useless. Her life wasn't a movie, things like that didn't happen to her. She sighed, finally giving up all her hope. She made her way to Gate 23, and then handed the ticket to the man.

She looked around the plane to see where her seat was. For once in her life, she had a window seat. Maybe things were turning around for her. This window seat was definitely a sign. It was a sign that her life in New York City would be defiantly better than her life in Newport. She closed her eyes and leaned her seat back, dreaming of all the things that would await her in New York. There would be no Seth Cohen, or Peter, and that made her smile.

"Ladies and Gentlemen please begin to fasten your seatbelts…" the pilot announced, it was finally official. She was about to begin her new life.

-x-

Seth Cohen was breaking the speed limit once again. He knew it was late at night, and at this time he knew that there were numerous cops that patrolled this area. He wasn't looking and before he knew it there were flashing red and blue light signaling him to pull over. The policeman stopped out of his car, and made him way to Seth's car. He didn't need this; he had to get to the airport.

Once he left Summer's empty apartment, he called Marissa to see if he could find out what flight she was leaving on. Marissa told him, but she said he only had about an hour to get there. Once he heard he only had any hour to get there, he peeled out the parking lot as fast as he could.

The police man was inching closer to his car, he wanted to get away. If he did that he knew that he would face more consequences then he would now. He had to get to that airport, and he would if it killed him.

"Son, do you know how fast you were going?" the police man bent down to ask him.

"I know, I'm sorry, I really have to get to the airport," Seth was becoming increasingly frustrated, he need to go now.

"Are you going to miss your flight son?"

"No, well yes, kind of. The woman I love is boarding a flight, and I need to stop her before she goes through with it."

"Look," he paused for a moment," I don't normally do this. But, I will let you go on a warning, just don't speed again or you'll get a ticket. Got it son?"

"Yeah, got it."

Seth peeled off from the side of the road. He looked to see if there was any incoming traffic coming, and there was none. He quickly sped into the road and made his way to the airport. He popped in a Death Cab c.d. to see if it would calm his nerves. Nothing was working, he was nervous all over. He kept checking his clock repeatedly, thirty minutes had already flown by.

He finally reached the airport and he immediately parked his car right in the front of it. A security guard yelled at him and told him he would have to pay a ticket if he kept his car there. Seth yelled that he would pay the ticket when he came out. The automatic doors opened in front of him and he rushed inside.

He didn't know where to start, there were people moving all about, all of them going in different directions. He ran up to the baggage check in to ask a woman where he could go.

"Excuse me, can you please tell me," he took a deep breath; he hadn't run that fast ever," where Gate 23 is?"

The woman looked the young man over. He looked tired, he was also sweaty, and he looked as if he had been running. A faint smile ran across her face.

"I guess you must be the guy," she said with a slight laugh.

"What guy?" he asked, confused.

"About ten minutes ago a woman came in saying if there was enough time for a man to come in to declare her love for her. So I'm guessing you must be the guy."

"What did she look like?"

"Short, brown hair, she had a ticket to go to New York…"

Seth interrupted her," Yeah I'm the guy."

"Gate 23 is to the right, but I suggest you hurry sir!"

Before she could finish, Seth was sprinting down the airport. He probably knocked down a couple of people along the way, but he couldn't worry about that at the moment. He just kept looking forward, looking strait at the gate. He finally made it to the gate, but a man stopped him.

"Sir, do you have a ticket?" the man asked him.

"No, but I just need to stop someone from getting on that flight," he pleaded with the man.

"Sir, I'm afraid if you don't have a ticket, I can't let you on. Besides the plane left a couple of minutes ago."

He couldn't believe it, he had lost her again. He didn't say anything else to the man, he just put his hands in his pockets and left.

-x-

It was thirty minutes into the flight and Summer was bored. She never imagined that a window seat would be so boring, sure the middle seats got on her nerves, but at least they were entertaining. She looked around for something to do, and then she found the airphone sitting in front of her. She dug out her credit card and swiped it on the side of the phone.

"Hey Marissa, what's up?" asked Summer.

"Nothing, the party is winding down, so how's your flight?"

"Boring, you know how much I hate flying."

"So what are you going to do once you get to the Big Apple?"

"I'll probably check in to the hotel, and then I'll probably go to the Empire State Building or something. Look, it's getting late I'll call you later."

-x-

The cab dropped Summer off in front of the Plaza Hotel. She was planning on staying there until she could get her apartment ready. It didn't hurt that her new salary would easily cover this. She smiled at the sight of it, she was actually doing this. She was actually moving to New York. California was no longer her home, New York was.

She walked inside the grand lobby and immediately got her hotel room key. She couldn't believe that she was staying here of all places. She went to go look out at the view from her window. She was half-expecting to see the beach, but instead she got a view of Central Park. She could get used to living here. After all, the city did contain men that she had never seen before, and that was good enough for her.

She finished unpacking and then decided to make her way over to the Empire State Building. Ever since she was a little girl, she promised that if she ever went to New York the first thing she would do was go to the Empire State Building. The main reason she always wanted to go was because they don't have any skyscrapers in Orange County, and this one seemed like the best one for her.

She didn't want to take the subway on her first day, she could figure out how to use it later. She went over to the curb and tried to hale a cab. Summer quickly found that this was something that she was not very good at, every time she raised her had and yelled "Taxi!" the cares would still go zooming by. Finally, after many repeated tries, one pulled over to the side and let her in.

The ride to the building was quiet. She was too absorbed with her new home to pay any attention to the cab driver who was telling her she was there. She got out and paid the driver his money and then she made her way up to the building. She walked into the lobby and bought a ticket to the top of the building.

Once she made it to the top, she couldn't believe it. She was finally there, the place that she always dreamed of. There was almost no one on top of the building considering it was still early in the morning. She walked around the balcony observing the tiny city below her. She walked around until she came to a man who was slumped over with his fingers intertwined in the gate. She walked over to him some thinking that she recognized him.

He removed his fingers from the gate and made his way towards Summer. She couldn't tell who it was because his head was down. He looked as if he was waiting for someone, but they never showed.

"Excuse me, sir, are you looking for someone?" she shyly asked.

He lifted his head up to see where the voice was coming from. Once he did she knew who it was, it was Seth. She almost felt paralyzed where she was standing. How on earth did he know she was here?

"Hey, Sum. About last night, I'm sorry I told you that I didn't love you, but the truth is, is that I do love you. I love you so much that, hell, I got into an altercation with a cop on my way to the airport to stop you from getting on a flight. Then, I flew here all the way on another flight just so I could meet you here. That's how much I love you Summer. And I know it sounds so cliché or whatever but I don't care, that's how I feel."

She stood there for a second and walked closer to him. "Seth, please shut up."

Then she pulled him in and she kissed him, it wasn't as passionate as the kisses that night at her house, but it generated the same electricity.

Finally Summer was truly happy.

**A/N: there you go! I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! Anyway Read&Review please!**


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